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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: toast · row · capital · band · chair · fall

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. row — a line
  3. fall — to drop
  4. capital — a city
  5. band — a music group
  6. fall — to drop
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. chair — a leader
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. toast — bread
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. fall — the season
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chair — a professorship

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com